Chapter 11 Chapter nine

To make sure his conversation with Mr. Langdon was not interrupted, Bezu Fache had switched off his cell phone.Unfortunately, the expensive model was equipped with a two-way radio, and one of his men was using it to call him, against orders. "Director?" There was a "cracking" voice on the phone like a walkie-talkie.Fache gritted his teeth with anger.He couldn't imagine what important things could cause Collet to interrupt this secret surveillance—especially at this critical moment. He glanced at Langdon calmly and apologetically, "Please wait a moment." He pulled out the phone from his belt, pressed the wireless transmission button, and said in French, "Who?"

"Director, an agent from the Cryptography Department has arrived." The other party said in French. Fache suppressed his anger for a moment.A code breaker?Although it's not when it comes, it's likely to be good news.After Fache discovered Saunière's cryptic writing on the floor, he sent piles of crime scene photos to the Cryptography Department, hoping someone would tell him what Saunière was trying to say.If a code-breaker had come, it was likely that he had figured out what Saunière meant. "I'm busy right now," Fache said back, his tone telling the other person that he was busy with another phone. "Tell the codebreaker to wait at Command. I'll talk to him when I'm done."

"She," corrected the other, "is Police Neveu." The more he talked on the other end of the phone, the less interested Fache became.Taking in Sophie Neveu was one of the Central Judicial Police's biggest mistakes.Neveu is a young translator, a Parisian who has studied code-breaking at Royal Holloway University.Sophie Neveu was handed Fache two years ago as the ministry tried to get more women into the police force.The ministry's attempt to be "politically correct" is ongoing, but Fache argues that this is effectively a weakening of the ministry.Not only do women lack the physical strength required for police work, but their presence often distracts the men of the profession, which is dangerous.As Fache feared, Neveuur proved to be the least reassuring.

She was thirty-two years old, and her will was almost obstinate.She was too eager to put her trust in the new British methods, and so always annoyed the veteran French codebreakers above her.Of course, what bothered Fache the most was the one-size-fits-all axiom: In a group of middle-aged men's offices, an attractive young woman was always drawing people's attention away from the work at hand. The man on the radio said, "Officer Neveu insisted on speaking to you immediately, Chief. I tried my best to stop her, but she's now heading towards the gallery." Fache flinched, unable to believe this was happening. "It's outrageous, I've made it clear—"

Robert Langdon felt as if Fache had suffered a sudden stroke.The director's jaw suddenly stopped moving, his eyes protruded, and he could only speak half a sentence.His bulging, blistered eyes seemed to be fixed to something behind Langdon's shoulder.Before Langdon could turn around to see what was going on, he heard a woman's voice behind him. "Excuse me, gentlemen," she said in French.Langdon turned to see a young woman, striding towards them with brisk strides, a creamy yellow Irish sweater casually worn to the knees just above her black leather boots.She was attractive, with thick wine-colored hair that fell naturally to her shoulders, yet revealed a gentle face.Unlike the frail sweeties plastered on Harvard dormitory walls, this woman has a raw, healthy beauty that exudes a startling confidence.

What Langdon didn't expect was that the woman walked directly towards him and extended her hand politely. "Mr. Langdon, I'm Neveu, a police officer in the Encryption Department of the Central Judicial Police." She spoke in a cadence, and a French accent could be heard in her English. "Nice to meet you." Langdon took her soft palm and found that she was looking at him hard.Her eyes were olive green--sharp and clear.Fache took a deep breath, obviously about to start criticizing her. "Director," she said preemptively, turning hastily, "forgive me for interrupting your conversation, but—"

"This is not the time!" Fache said in French, exasperated. "I wanted to call you," she continued in English, as if out of courtesy to Langdon, "but your phone is off." "I turned it off for a reason," he hissed at her angrily. "I'm talking to Mr. Langdon." "I've deciphered that digital code," she said dryly.Judging from Fache's expression, he was a little uncertain how to react to this. "Before I explain," Sophie said. "I have to deliver an urgent message to Mr. Langdon first." Fache looked increasingly anxious. "A message to Mr. Langdon?"

She nodded and turned back to Langdon. "You need to contact the American embassy, ​​Mr. Langdon. They have a message for you from the United States." Langdon was taken aback. His agitation over the password had suddenly turned into a fit of unease.Message from America?He wondered who might be trying to find him, and only a few of his colleagues knew he was in Paris. Hearing this news, Fache also opened his mouth wide in shock. "The American embassy?" Fache asked suspiciously. "How did they know to come here for Mr. Langdon?" Sophie shrugged. "Apparently, they called the hotel where Mr. Langdon was staying, but the receptionist told them that Mr. Langdon had been called away by a Central Judicial Police."

Fache looked even more puzzled. "Could it be that the embassy has contacted the Encryption Department of the Central Judicial Police?" "No, sir," Sophie said firmly. "When I was calling you at the Central Judicial Police switchboard, they happened to have a message for Mr. Langdon. They said that if I could get through to you, they would let me pass the message to him." Fache frowned in confusion.He wanted to speak, but Sophie had turned to Langdon. She took a small note from her pocket and said loudly, "Mr. Langdon, this is the message service number provided by your embassy. They ask you to call in as soon as possible." She handed him the note, He looked at him meaningfully again. "You'll have to call while I explain the code to Director Fache." Langdon examined the note carefully. It contained a Paris telephone number and extension. "Thank you." He was very worried. "Where can I find the phone?"

Sophie took the phone out of her sweater pocket, but Fache signaled her not to let him use it.Right now he looks like Mount Vesuvius about to erupt.He stared at Sophie, took out his phone and handed it over. Langdon is puzzled by Fache's anger at Sophie.He nervously took the chief's call.Fache immediately pushed Sophie a few steps away and began berating her harshly in a low voice.Langdon, who grew to hate Fache, turned away from the puzzling conflict between the other two and turned on his phone.After checking the number Sophie had given him, Langdon began dialing.There was a dialing sound on the phone.

One..., two..., three... Finally connected. Langdon expected to hear the embassy operator's voice, but what he heard instead was a voicemail recording.Oddly, the voice on the tape is familiar, that of Sophie Neveu. "Hello, this is Sophie Neveu's," a woman said in French. "I'm not at home right now, but..." Langdon was confused, and he turned to Sophie. "Excuse me, Miss Neveu, I thought you might give me—" "That's right, that number," Sophie interjected quickly, as if anticipating Langdon's confusion. "The embassy has an automatic message service system, but you have to dial the number to enter the system before receiving your message." Langdon was stunned. "but--" "It's the three-digit number on that piece of paper I gave you." As Langdon opened his mouth to explain the comic error, Sophie gave him a momentary, stern, silencing look.Her green eyes sent a very clear message. Don't ask too much.Do as requested. Puzzled, Langdon dialed extension 454 on the paper.Sophie's voicemail was interrupted immediately.Langdon heard the computer-recorded voice say in French, "You have a new message." Apparently, 454 was the remote access code to answer the message when Sophie was away. I want to listen to this woman's message? Langdon could hear the sound of the tape rewinding.It finally stopped and voicemail started working.Langdon heard the message that the machine began to play.This time it was Sophie's voice again. "Mr. Langdon," a frightening whisper came from the message, "after hearing the message, don't react, just listen calmly. You are in danger now, please strictly follow my instructions."